Parole board to reconsider Robb's release after meeting with victim's family

HARRISBURG — Under intense pressure from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office, local lawmakers, the family of Ellen Robb and a swell of media attention in the last week, the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole has agreed to reconsider its decision to release Rafael Robb from prison.

Robb, the confessed killer of his wife, Ellen Robb, is scheduled for release Jan. 28, but the parole was cast in doubt Tuesday after Michael Potteiger, chairman of the parole board, met with Gary Gregory, Ellen Robb’s brother, and state Rep. Mike Vereb (R-150th Dist.).

Addressing members of the press Tuesday, Vereb said he was optimistic with the “baby steps” edging towards a fundamental change in the law and has begun work on legislation that would require the parole board to hear from victims’ family members, in person, before granting parole to admitted killers.

During questioning from the press, Vereb admitted he was “less than calm” in the letter he sent to the parole board last week, which called Robb’s release “unconscionable.”

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“We will be staying steadfast to ensure that justice is done for the victim in this case and for victims across Pennsylvania,” Vereb said. “We met with the chairman of the parole board. He has agreed to take additional information provided and have it immediately reviewed, pending any release of Mr. Robb.”

When investigators first converged on the crime scene in the Upper Merion home of Ellen and Rafael Robb, they were met with a savagely brutal crime scene. Police thought at first Ellen Robb had died from a shotgun blast to the face before they determined she had been bludgeoned to death with an exercise bar hanging in their garage.

Last week, District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said this case is only the second time in her 20 years as a prosecutor that she has asked the board to reconsider the parole of an inmate.

The board’s change of plan may also have been fueled in part by a letter from retired county Judge Paul Tressler, who presided over the Robb case six years ago. Tressler said this is the first time he has ever raised an objection to the board regarding an inmate, but felt compelled.

“Former District Attorney Bruce Castor agreed to a plea to manslaughter under the facts of the case, and I cannot fault that decision,” Tressler wrote.

Robb was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison.

“I imposed a sentence on that crime that was within the standard range of guidelines established by the state legislature,” Tressler continued. “My reasons for doing so are stated in the record. It has been my experience that the appellate courts would have overturned a high sentence, based on the facts of this case.

“Dr. Robb is a highly manipulative individual, as was proven by his lies to the authorities concerning the crime scene and his attempt to cast suspicion onto an imaginary assailant … I fear his prison conduct and your judgment about him not being a threat to the public is another example of his manipulation, this time, of the parole board.”

In a statement issued Tuesday, Potteiger said he had spoken with Robb’s family and said it has been customary in the past of other board chairmen to do so.

“The board has a process in place to enable reconsideration of a parole decision when it receives any additional information about a case, prior to an offender’s release that was not provided prior to the parole interview and decision,” he wrote.

Gregory thanked the parole board for the opportunity to meet with him in person. Looking directly into the camera Tuesday, he urged the board to “do the right thing.”

The parole board is exepcted to reach a decision on the case by Jan. 28.